


The Usual Room

by WintersIce



Category: Hololive, Virtual Streamer Animated Characters
Genre: Complete, Not a Cult, Psychological Horror, Thriller
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:00:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28703298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WintersIce/pseuds/WintersIce
Summary: Being a Kiara Friend Phoenix employee felt like a dream come true. It was such a wonderful place to work, with friendly people all over the restaurant. One could share memes with them and then go on to roast them without mercy. Everyone was filled with laughs both on and off of their shift. Yet, they all knew the rumors about the "Usual Room," where bad employees were sent to. They all thought it was a joke to keep them in line, not something that actually existed.Even he, a run of the mill young KFP employee, believed it was nothing more than a joke. Until he had the unfortunate luck to truly learn about the room after too many clumsy mistakes.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 23





	The Usual Room

**Author's Note:**

> The KFP "Usual Room," aka basement, was something that I had to write about at some point. It has been joked about a lot and I've seen many fanarts about it, so why not join in the fun?

Being a Kiara Fried Phoenix employee wasn’t the easiest, but the atmosphere in the restaurant was certainly lively, if not chaotic at times. The workers generally got along and would crack jokes and share memes while both on and off of their shifts. At times they would make chicken noises at each other which ended in fits of laughter. They were all human, but they enjoyed the chicken talk far too much. Sure, they’d get yelled at by the manager, but it didn’t stop them from having fun when business died down. It wouldn’t be right not to be lively in such a colorful, fast-food restaurant. At times it really felt like a family-owned joint. The way the employees supported each other was admirable, though it didn’t stop them from roasting each other from time to time.

Despite the comfortable atmosphere, they were all aware of the rumor, it’d be impossible to not know about it. Many people have discussed the “Usual Room,” where underperforming or misbehaving employees would be taken too. It was said those unfortunate employees would come out with a new mindset about work, or they were never seen again. Tales of gruesome torture murmured from the employee’s lips, but never once did they provide any proof about it’s supposed existence. It had gotten to the point it was something to joke about, not something to fear. Tenchou simply made it up as a way to mess with her employees, she was far too caring to actually hurt any of them.

A young man dressed in the KFP uniform had just completed his duties for the day, as a small sigh escaped his lips. The sun had faded long ago and he was one of the only remaining workers. He had a slim figure, boney limbs, and messy brown hair. He had screwed up earlier that day by giving a customer the wrong order, which was followed up by spilling chicken nuggets on the floor. He was, unfortunately, a rather clumsy person, but he tried his best every day. While his fellow employees and friends told him, stuff happens sometimes and they weren’t angry, his manager wasn’t as forgiving. It wasn’t the first time he had dropped something that week, and certainly not first in his four months of employment. He didn’t want to think about the amount of money in chicken he caused to go to waste with his unsteady hands.

He found himself in front of a door, which sported a cute chicken nameplate, that led to his manager’s office. Despite the bright colors and cute chicken décor scattered across the place, the room always gave off a creepy aura. He couldn’t explain why, but something about the contents of the room was so different from the rest of the place. It was just as colorful, but it didn’t have that welcoming, family-friendly vibe the rest of the restaurant had. After taking a deep breath and telling himself to stay calm, he opened the door and walked into the room.

“You wanted to see me sir?” he asked as he made his way to the front of the manager’s desk. It was neat, with piles of papers on the top right of the desk while on the left was a container of pens, highlighters, and other small office supplies. He noticed a folder in front of his manager’s hands that had, “APPROVED,” stamped on it in red with the easily recognizable phoenix mascot on it.

“Yes, I have something I’d like to discuss with you about your performance,” explained the manager. He was an older man who wore black glasses and always donned a serious expression. He was often hard on them, but never viciously yelled at them or fired anymore in a fit of rage. He never wore the trademark colorful uniform, just an average looking suit. The only sign he worked for KFP was the orange and teal colored tie.

“I’m so sorry sir, I’ll do better tomorrow, I promise,” pleaded the young man who couldn’t knock back the unease that started to swirl inside his stomach. It wasn’t his first time in the office, and it always ended with anxiety taking hold of his body. He needed the job and it was the first place he worked where he could say he cared for all of his fellow employees. He didn’t want to lose that over a stupid mistake. He had improved since he started working there, so he knew he could continue doing so.

“I have seen you improve these past few months, but you have continued to make similar mistakes. Unfortunately, I had to inform Miss Takanashi of your earlier blunders which have piled on top of your past ones. She was not amused,” explained the manager as he lowered his hands from the desk to underneath it. His voice was stern as ever, but something was off about it. The young man couldn’t explain why, but he felt as though he was being pitied. 

“What,” he paused to take a small breath in to help with his nerves, but it wasn’t enough to stop his left hand from twitching, “did she say?”

The manager simply stared at him, the blank expression not once wavering. The intense, silent atmosphere started to pound away at the young man’s nerves as his mind raced with thoughts of dread. It was only when the door creaked eerily and footsteps began to reverberate in the small room did the manager speak, “Send him to the Usual Room.”

As if on cue, two muscular hands reached out and grabbed each of the young man’s arms. In a panic, he snapped his head behind him to see two unfamiliar men wearing suits with the same KFP colored ties. He struggled to pull away from the mysterious men as he put all the force he could muster into his arms. He desperately tried to wiggle his lanky arms out of the vice-like hold, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t escape. They were just too strong compared to him, and he came to the realization he couldn’t fend them off no matter how much he tried.

“Sir, please! I can improve more! I swear I won’t mess up anymore, so please! Please! Don’t send me there!” he begged, as fear danced throughout his whole body. He firmly believed that the room couldn’t exist. That it was nothing more than a groundless rumor created to screw with the employees. Yet, he heard his manager mutter that name. He felt the two vicious hands against his arms preventing him from escaping. The room did exist, and they were about to kidnap him on orders of Takanashi Kiara.

“I’m sorry to say, but only she can give and retract that order. Good luck,” explained the manager as he gave a small nod to the two men. 

At that moment, an orange towel was placed over the young man’s mouth. He knew exactly what that was. He had watched enough movies to know that the office, his manager, and the silhouette of chicken statues were going to be the last thing he saw before he awoke in an unknown place. What he didn’t expect was the faint frown on his manager’s face as he lost consciousness.  


* * *

Something underneath him was cold, which made the exposed skin on his arms tingle. It was hard, flat as a board, and not a single trace of warmth could be obtained from the spot. In the distance, he could hear a chicken’s cry. The more it sobbed, the more strained and filled with agony it sounded. As the poor creature’s cries continued to scratch against his ears, his consciousness began to return. He understood that something was horribly wrong, and it wasn’t just the chicken.

When he finally opened his wavering eyes, dim red light and a gray room greeted him. He was sprawled out on the concrete, and as he began to push his body upwards, he felt a pain crash against his skull. After forcing himself into a sitting position, he raised his left hand to rest against his throbbing head. He, thankfully, felt no external injuries or any hot liquid against his palm. Besides the throbbing in his head, he felt no other pains twinge against his weak body.

After removing his hand from his head while trying to ignore the pain, he began to survey his current location. Besides the previously established near-total darkness of the room, all he could see was white and brown feathers scattered around. The unfortunate employee was able to push himself up by using the wall next to him to keep his balance. It was then he noticed, to his right, a metal door with a red light above it with a sign that read, “Waiting Room.”  
  
“This is…the waiting room?” he mumbled as the authenticity of his situation finally started to settle in. Everything that had occurred in the office was real and not some nightmare he had on his way home from work. He was kidnapped by two mysterious men due to his failings, and the CEO of KFP demanded him to be brought to this location. His mind raced with horrific images that could very soon become his fate.

“What…do I do?” he spoke as he slowly turned his body around. There he saw another metallic door with the same red light above it that read, plain as day, “The Usual Room.” There it was, the horrible place he had joked about for the last four months. It was real, and before he’d know it, he’d be shoved in there. The chicken’s cries sounded off sporadically from behind that accursed door. Perhaps, it wasn’t even a chicken at all. Merely a sound to block the actual cries of a human? He didn’t know, and he didn’t want to think about it.

Fear began to eat away at him as he felt his legs tremble beneath him. His heart started to pound just as intensely as the pain in his skull. No matter how hard he tried to ignore it, the pain wouldn’t magically go away, much like the situation he was in. He felt his breathing quicken as he shook his head around. There was only one way out, but the door to his right would be impossible for anyone to break down. It would be locked, of course, no kidnapper would just throw the victim into the waiting room without locking the door.

It was at that point the chicken’s (human’s?) cry came to a halt. His stomach dropped as the sensation he was about to puke crept up his throat. The silence made his ears ring as a cold chill traveled up his spine. He stared at the door that would lead into the Usual Room. 

“It’ll be me next, and I can’t run away. There is no way out of this place,” he mumbled as his legs finally gave out, which resulted in him crashing into the concrete. He felt the pain surge in his thighs and bottom as he stared up at the door to the usual room. He felt tears slip out of his eyes as his hands shook uncontrollably. It was as if whatever strength he did have was being devoured by the metallic door.  
  
Everything he and his coworkers joked about wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t just some disturbing tale that alternated from person to person. Humans (chickens?) were sent to that room as a punishment for their actions. Was he going to become one of those people to tell the tale after his session? Or merely someone that met their end in that room? 

Suddenly, the red light above the door shifted to green as he heard the clunk of a deadbolt reverberate in the empty room. He began to count slowly to himself, relishing in every last moment he had before the mastermind behind all of it emerged from that door. He might have been a klutz that dropped food here and there, but he didn’t deserve such a fate. It wasn’t a crime that should result in torture. Being fired would have been the kinder reaction to his failures.  
  
“12…13…14…15…” he counted out in a raspy voice as his head started to pound feverously. He couldn’t even feel his legs or backside. He couldn’t tell if it was due to the pain overwhelming him or the fear circulating throughout his very soul. 

“20…21…23…24…” he continued to count when the door slowly opened with a loud hiss. He felt his voice fade as his mouth formed the number 25. He continued to silently count as he watched the figure slowly make her way to him. He noted a few feathers fell from her hands as she walked over to his unstable body.    
  
He knew who was going to greet him before she even showed her face. He didn’t want to accept the image before him, but he knew it was true. The young man wished for some guy in a mask from some horror film, but it was never meant to be that way. In all the tales about this evil place, two things were consistent. Unbelievable torture, and Takanashi Kiara.

It was his boss, a person he looked up to. She was always so much fun, with a cute voice he could listen to all day. Sure, she’d fire them over and over again in anger, but she always welcomed them back with open arms. The thought of her being some type of devilish beast was always utterly ludicrous to him. She had her bottom left moments and could create some cursed content. Yet, at the end of the day, she was always such a sweet and caring phoenix.    
  
His eyes didn’t deceive him though, no matter how much his beating heart didn’t want to believe it. There she was. He could recognize that uniform anywhere. After all, he saw variants of it almost every day on all the other employees. The hair, the mix of bright orange and the gradients of teal, still shimmered brightly in the darkened room. Her pink nail polish was as girlish as ever, but the liquid slipping down those gentle fingers frightened him. Her hats were in place as one expected from her, and not a single stain could be spotted on her sporty shoes.

“Hello, my little chicken,” she spoke in the same cheerful voice he could recognize anywhere, “I heard you’ve been awful clumsy lately. You know that isn’t good for business, right? That could drive our customers to other restaurants, and that would hurt the company.”

“I’m,” he mumbled as he looked up into those galaxy-like eyes of hers, “I’m so sorry! I won’t make those mistakes again, I promise! I’ll become a better worker who won’t make any mistakes!”

A bright smile overtook her soft features, but not her eyes. Something that was usually an honor to stare into any other day had turned into something frightening. They were the same as always, but the glare in them was so  _ menacing _ . He felt the skrellingtons inside of her eyes would somehow jump out at him and begin the session. He didn’t want to accept that body belonged to Kiara.

“It’s good to apologize when you do something wrong, but I still need to teach you a lesson. You’re a smart boy. You know there is no way out, so, get up and follow me. The sooner we start, the sooner it ends,” she spoke in a somewhat harsher tone as she stared down at him. They were beautiful, but oh so menacing. 

He couldn’t feel his legs, but he understood those orders. He couldn’t resist her and didn’t even want to think about what would happen if he tried to. He gathered what strength he had left and forced every ounce of it into his legs as he used the wall to help hobble himself up.

“Good boy,” spoke Kiara as she extended her hand out to him as she twisted that bright smile into a horrific one, “You know, you need to take good care of those precious fingers of yours. It’d be hard to do your job without them, ya know? Your nails, on the other hand, you don’t need them for work, right?”

**Author's Note:**

> So, how was it? I'm somewhat conflicted about the work but I think it came out mostly fine. Might do something similar or a follow up in the future, but gotta see.


End file.
